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We have built a total of about 1250 of this aircraft, but only fifty were allowed to be used as fighters - as interceptors. And out of this fifty, there were never more than 25 operational. So we had only a very, very few.

I went into the Air Corps from 1943 through 1945.

I was commanding officer of a supersonic fighter squadron, F-8 Crusaders.

Father served in the Air Force for 22 years.

But the Air Force was sort of a bastard child of the Army, much like the Marines with the Navy. Everything had to be done over by the Army after it had already been done by the Air Corps, a mess.

It's unbelievable what one squadron of twelve aircraft did to tip the balance.

If you want something that's going to provide you with a lot of challenges and a variety of different things to do, then you really can't beat a place like the Air Force. I don't mean this to sound like a recruiting pitch. But it's been a lot of fun.

At an early age, I quit high school at 17 and joined the Air Force.